Franz Ferdinand's Alex Kapranos slams RAC after '15-hour' wait for breakdown assist but company disputes claim
Franz Ferdinand frontman Alex Kapranos has expressed frustration with the RAC, claiming he was left waiting for 15 hours for breakdown assistance after his vehicle broke down on a motorway - an account the RAC has since disputed.
Kapranos took to social media platform X to vent his anger, starting with a post that read, “Hi @TheRAC_UK @RAC_Care. I’ve been waiting to be picked up from a motorway breakdown for 7 hours. Your operators don’t seem to know what is going on. Or say trucks have been dispatched when they haven’t. Is this normal? Is this my life now? Waiting for the truck that never comes?”
As the hours passed, Kapranos continued to document his experience, responding to a fan's inquiry by saying, “Oh, I’ve been speaking to operators. The answer is just ‘I don’t know’ or they put you on hold then hang up.” After 14 hours, he posted again, asking: “Hello @RAC_Care. I see you’re now answering tweets, but not mine. It’s nearly 14 hours I’ve been waiting for a truck. Any clue as to what is going on?”
After 15 hours, Kapranos announced that a driver had finally arrived, but he expressed his disappointment and vowed to cancel his membership. “A driver has arrived. 15 hours after I first broke down. Obviously I shall be cancelling my 20 year+ RAC membership as soon as I get home and giving @TheAA_UK a ring,” he wrote.
However, the RAC disputed Kapranos's timeline, claiming they responded sooner and provided him with accommodations. In a statement to NME, the RAC said, “We rescued Alex from the motorway at 9pm and towed him to a nearby motorway services and put him up in a hotel as per his policy. We came out to him again the next day to resolve.”
In other news, Franz Ferdinand recently announced a trio of live shows in Scotland, starting on September 26 with a performance at the Spa Pavilion in Strathpeffer, followed by a show at the Albert Halls in Stirling the next night.